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Melon Study Guide

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by Julian Barnes
About 28 pages (8,452 words)
Melon Summary

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Julian Barnes's short story “Melon” is divided into three sections, covering three ages in the life of a British nobleman of the late eighteenth century: before, during, and after the French Revolution. Dividing his life into segments without explanation may be confusing for readers at first, but Barnes's precise imagery and thoroughness of detail make his story credible and compelling. Even readers who are unfamiliar with the time period in which this work is set can lose themselves in Barnes's lush rendering of a very specific life.

The characters of this story live lives of privilege; they have no idea where food comes from or what difficulties most people face just trying to provide basic sustenance for themselves and their families. Over the course of the story, the main character grows from a child of privilege to a prisoner of war, but he does not necessarily learn about humanity.

“Melon” was published in Barnes's 1996 short story collection Cross Channel. The stories in this collection, like many of his other works, are concerned with the relationship between France and England, two countries separated by just a few miles of water whose histories have been intertwined.

This complete Introduction contains 195 words. This study guide contains 8,452 words (approx. 28 pages at 300 words per page).

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    Melon is a term used for various members of the Cucurbitaceae family with fleshy fruit. Melon can re... more


     
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    Melon from BookRags and Gale's For Students Series. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.

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